Pages

All Things Paranormal

Like my page

Follow me on Twitter

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Night Hawk by J.E. Taylor

To panic or not to panic...

Public speaking makes me break out in sweat.

So does the idea of being on the radio or television. When I
was in college, I got a shot at doing the news and froze the minute the “on
air” light went on. In one of my radio
internships, I was put on the spot by the radio personality and stuttered a little
in my response, but at least I didn’t freeze like I had in college.

It was different when I held the microphone and was asking
the questions, that seemed to be an easier route than being the one in the
spotlight and of course these were not “live” situations. I was just getting sound bites for the news,
not actually conducting an interview.
The psychological pressure wasn’t there.

I transitioned from radio and television to the business
world early on in my career and I still avoid formal presentations like they
were a new viral strain that, if it didn’t kill me, it would at least turn me
into a bumbling idiot. When I have to do
them, I still get the sweats – which these days I sometimes confuse with a hot
flash.

The first time I was asked to be on an author panel, I said
yes, even though every fiber was telling me to flee. I decided to have fun with it. After all, a panel is quite different from a
presentation. That small mental shift
seemed to open the door to make the event much more fun than I ever
imagined.

The next hurdle for me was an invite to speak to a creative
writing class a few years ago. That gave
me a great deal of angst, because I wasn’t sure if I was ready to do a
presentation in that space. What I
offered, and the teacher readily took me up on it, was to critique the opening
pages of the books the kids were writing prior to coming to the school. My session was focused on any questions the
kids had from the critiques and we talked about the importance of a kick-ass
opening.

I found I didn’t have as much of a problem talking to the
class as I thought I would.

So when I was asked recently to speak to another group of
high school creative writing students, I jumped at the chance. But this time, I prepared a formal
presentation, one that was meant to engage interaction with the kids. I sat in the front of the class, going
through the slide deck with books as props for the points I was making and had
a wonderful time with those kids. They
were not shy about asking questions and nearly stumped me a couple of times.

I loved talking with them, getting them excited about
writing, about publishing, and of course, about reading.

These encounters energized me, and all it took was a little
shift in perception.

Thanks for joining me today.

Before you go, check out the blurb for my new release, Night
Hawk...

Selling your soul has never been so charming and Mark throws in a little
something to sweeten the pot, his girlfriend Naomi.

Sentenced to death at the hands of a demon, Naomi Hawk has a firsthand
lesson in despair and betrayal in Mark’s deal for fame with all the trimmings.
Deep in the clutches of the underground brotherhood, Naomi's light is coveted
for the Master's gain.

When she slips and falls eighty stories from a precarious ledge, Naomi
resigns herself to the inevitable impact and death by shattered bones. Before
she can escape her demons in eternal slumber, something sinister plucks her
from the plummet, stealing her out of the night to sacrifice her forever to the
shadows.

Selling your soul has never
been so charming and Mark throws in a little something to sweeten the pot, his
girlfriend Naomi.

Sentenced to death at the
hands of a demon, Naomi Hawk has a firsthand lesson in despair and betrayal in
Mark’s deal for fame with all the trimmings. Deep in the clutches of the
underground brotherhood, Naomi's light is coveted for the Master's gain.

When she slips and falls
eighty stories from a precarious ledge, Naomi resigns herself to the inevitable
impact and death by shattered bones. Before she can escape her demons in
eternal slumber, something sinister plucks her from the plummet, stealing her
out of the night to sacrifice her forever to the shadows.

“You’re more than welcome to join me,” I
said when she showed no signs of moving.

Her mouth opened and she glanced back
toward the living room. “When?”

“Right now,” I said, knowing she wasn’t
referring to my offer.

She rolled her eyes. “When did you paint
that mural?”

“A long time ago,” I said. “Now, are you
going to join me or not?” This time I turned toward her, giving her the full
view and I smiled at the way her gaze bounced, her eyes widening a fraction
before inching their way back up my chest to my face. Her cheeks bloomed and I
cocked an eyebrow at her.

She pressed her lips together and slammed
the door, marching out of the room in a huff.

I chuckled and ran the soap over my chest,
running my fingers over what was left of the welt on my skin. The vampiric
healing powers still amazed me enough that I missed the shift in the air around
me.

Nails scraped my back and I jumped,
swinging my head in the direction of the disturbance. Her wide eyes met mine
and I turned, drinking her in from head to toe. Exquisite was the only word
that popped into mind and when her fingers touched my chest I reached, covering
her hand and holding it against my skin.

“What are you doing?” I whispered because
having her undressed and this close put me at a major disadvantage.

“I’m saying thank you,” she said and her
hands moved lower.

Catching her wrists, I warned, “Naomi,
don’t start something you can’t finish.” My body responded anyway and she
closed the distance. Her lips grazed my chest and I closed my eyes, releasing
her and surrendering to her exploration.

When her tongue trailed lower, I recalled
the memories of her ex and my eyes snapped open. As much as the thought of her
taking me in her mouth thrilled me, I didn’t want to be that memory and I grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her up to
face me. She wasn’t one of the common harlots from my past that I let drop to
their knees before me.

No, Naomi was different and I wanted more.

“You do not have to do this just because
you aren’t ready for anything else.”

Her dark eyes met mine and I traced the
frame of her face with my fingertips, studying every curve. Leaning down, I took
her lower lip in my mouth, sucking gently before shifting and delivering a kiss
that started as tender and rich as her blood, but it soon escalated into an
all-consuming heat and I could envision living in this bliss for the rest of
eternity.

I had lied to her today.

Fear wasn’t the only deep emotion I had
encountered since I plucked her out of the sky, this need to connect, to love
again overwhelmed me. The irony of her name and the form she turned into added
to the feel that fate had prepared this feast just for me.

About the Author:

J.E. Taylor is a
writer, a publisher, an editor, a manuscript formatter, a mother, a wife and a
business analyst, not necessarily in that order. She first sat down to seriously write in
February of 2007 after her daughter asked:

“Mom, if you could do anything, what would you do?”

From that moment on, she hasn’t looked back and now her writing resume includes
a more than a dozen published novels along with several short stories on the
virtual shelves including a few within eXcessica anthologies.

In addition to being co-owner of Novel Concept Publishing

(www.novelconceptpublishing), Ms. Taylor also moonlights as a Senior Editor of
Allegory (www.allegoryezine.com), an online venue
for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. She has been known to edit a book or
two and also offers her services judging writing contests for various RWA
chapters.

She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children and during
the summer months enjoys her weekends on the shore in southern Maine.

Hidden Senses Trilogy

Pre-made Book Covers!

Book Hooks

BOOKS!

Blog Challenge

About Me

The short version is: I never sleep, live on coffee and take exhausted to new levels.
The 'official' bio reads something like this:
Jacqueline Paige lives in Ontario in a small town that’s part of the popular Georgian Triangle area. No one has ever heard of Stayner, so she usually tells people she lives “near Collingwood” and no, she doesn’t ski at Blue Mountain or at all, in fact she’s not even fond of snow.